Trinidad: Cops save woman who lost consciousness while driving

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(NEWS DAY) — A woman is full of praise for two policemen who she believes saved her life by promptly responding to her predicament on the Uriah Butler Highway on Thursday, when she lost consciousness while driving.

But Amanda Samaroo, 28, and the policemen were about 30 miles apart – she on the southbound lane near Endeavour, and PCs Sujeet Ramcharan and Senaswee in Ste Madeleine, on the outskirts of San Fernando. Samaroo was driving home from Piarco, where she had had a meal, but just before the Endeavour flyover, she felt dizzy. She lives in Barrackpore.

Speaking to Newsday, Samaroo talked about her near-death experience which occurred at about 4 pm.

“I began to lose consciousness. I was going in and out. But I hold on to the steering and tried to move to the slow lane. I called my father and told him I was getting blackouts,” Samaroo said.

Other drivers were honking their horns in what Samaroo described as busy Christmas shopping traffic heading into Chaguanas. She managed to get into the slow lane, she said, “Then I just black out just so.”

In Barrackpore, her father, Boodram Samaroo, 76, and his wife had already got into his van and sped off to help their daughter. He feared for her, Samaroo said, because he kept calling but Samaroo said she began to vomit and was too weak to answer her father’s calls. Boodram reached Ste Madeleine M 2 Ring Road at about 4.30 pm and spotted a police vehicle. He spoke to Ramcharan and Senaswee, who called the police command centre.

While Boodram headed for Endeavour, Ramcharan and Senaswee took turns in speaking to Samaroo, the command centre, Freeport Police Highway Patrol and Emergency Health Service ambulance personnel. Samaroo said, “PC Ramcharan and the other officer spoke to me and helped me to remain calm. They kept calling me every five minutes. They told me how to breathe, lock the doors and to take deep breaths.”

A police report said the two officers kept in constant contact with Samarro, while at the same time, updating the command centre on the location, registration number, make and colour of Samaroo’s vehicle. It resulted in police and EHS arriving within minutes. Samaroo vouched for the prompt arrival of an ambulance and police.

“I was not in a state of mind to remember much, but it seems like minutes. I heard police siren and ambulance and it seemed like I had just spoken to these officers. I thank them.”

Samarro said the police did not even wait to put her into an ambulance when they saw her drifting in and out of consciousness.

“When Sgt Ali see my state, he got into the driver’s seat and drove me directly to the Chaguanas District Health Facility. I was diagnosed with food poisoning and gastric acid.”

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